Now attention should turn back to Penn State

My column Saturday suggested that as satisfying as it was to see Jerry Sandusky behind bars, we needed to maintain some perspective in our reaction, understanding that the vast majority of adult mentors are sincerely dedicated to helping young people, while at the same time recognizing that institutions and parents need to take sensible precautions to protect children in their care.

Certainly Penn State failed in that regard. We'll find out in the coming months if some of its leaders failed so dismally that their inaction was criminal, but even if it doesn't meet that standard of proof, everyone involved fell far short of what was morally acceptable.

I'm on record as including the late coach Joe Paterno in that condemnation, and I feel even more strongly about that after the prosecution's overwhelming evidence of all the ways in which Sandusky victimized his prey. Do you still believe that Joe Paterno had no inkling, long before the incident that assistant coach Mike McQueary saw and told him about, of what Sandusky was up to, on and off the Penn State campus?

Don't be influenced by the broken old man we saw in Paterno's last days. For decades, this was one of the America's most powerful, most iconic sports leaders, and a genuine force on the college campus where he chose to remain, even when the NFL came calling.

I just can't imagine a Paterno that deaf, blind and disconnected to be oblivious while his top assistant was undergoing a criminal investigation in a small community, while a Penn State janitor was stumbling across Sandusky performing oral sex on a boy, while Sandusky was traipsing into the football team's showers with a succession of young victims. It doesn't compute with me.

Paterno paid the price for his inaction in those final, miserable months of his life, and I felt sympathy for him, as I know many other people did. I'm also on record as saying it shouldn't negate all the positive things he accomplished for his university and for college football.

But if anything good is going to come from all this, our focus needs to be on the institution he left behind. What has Penn State learned about itself, beyond the fact that it will be very expensive as the victims begin seeking compensation?

Jerry Sandusky was able to do what he did for as long as he did because college officials, coaches and law enforcement were much more concerned about protecting the Penn State football brand than they were about protecting children. For me, this always was a story about grossly twisted priorities, a common problem with big-time college sports, deified coaches and the campuses where they rule. And however bad we think it is, it's always much worse, because these big college programs are very good at keeping a tight lid on their players' and coaches' misdeeds. Certainly Penn State was.

I like what I've seen so far of new Nittany Lion coach Bill O'Brien, but no matter how successful he is, he can never be permitted to wield the kind of clout that Joe Paterno did. The university knew long ago that JoePa should retire, but Paterno was too powerful to mess with. The university knew that defensive coordinator Sandusky was suspected of child molestation, but let him leave on his own terms and continue to have the run of campus facilities. The university even knew very specifically that he had a 10-year-old boy pinned to the wall in one of its locker rooms, but concluded it was more "humane," according to an email exposed in a recent investigation, not to pursue criminal charges.

Humane for Jerry Sandusky, maybe. Humane for the football program's image and Joe Paterno's legacy. But certainly not for the Tickle Monster's present and future victims. They should have been the top priority.

I keep returning to the kid Mike McQueary said he saw being assaulted. McQueary said he made a noise to let Sandusky know he was there, then stormed out — leaving Sandusky alone with this child. A day later, McQueary told Paterno — who waited another day before kicking it upstairs to Athletic Director Tim Curley. Then Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz waited another 10 days before meeting with McQueary themselves.

That's an incredible lack of urgency, at every level of the university. Where was this little boy while these guys were mulling their options in their comfortable homes and offices? His rescue was an afterthought to the question that was much more important to them: What would happen to Jerry Sandusky if this were reported to the police or to child welfare officials? How would it look for the Penn State football program?

Protect it at any cost.

Sandusky's fate is clear, but the suffering is far from over. In and out of court, Penn State will pay through the nose for what happened and didn't happen. Still, here's the real question, for me.

When the last of the trials is over, when the last of the suits is settled, when the last of the reporters goes on to new stories … will anything, fundamentally, be different?

Everyone who cares about Penn State should be demanding the right answer to that one.